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> The real question is, why weren't these illegal donations found and red flagged well before he blew up so publicly and the feds started picking through his fi

> The real question is, why weren't these illegal donations found and red flagged well before he blew up so publicly and the feds started picking through his financial life with a fine toothed comb? Flagged by who - the donor or the recipients? It's obvious why neither would. Political donations in the US pretty much work on an honor system, this specific issue is only coming to light because someone is looking closely into a donor's books. By design, there is no strong oversight over donations by the FEC; I'm not sure it is structurally possible even if the will was there. Would the FEC provide oversight on election donations, and congress have oversight over the FEC? congress is made up of current-office holders and frequent candidates, the regulatory capture would be almost immediate (as early as the confirmation stage). Politicians will not facilitate the sort of proactive financial surveillance on themselves you think ought to have caught this issue earlier. edit: corrected "SEC" to "FEC".

deepsquirrelnet 4y ago
The FEC is the branch that should be flagging it if anyone. I’m less concerned about the wealth class than foreign citizens and governments though. Seems like we have a wide open gate that is intentionally being left open.
- sangnoir 4y ago
  > The FEC is the branch that should be flagging it if anyone. Thanks - I corrected my comment. I was thinking FEC, but writing "SEC", probably because FTX is involved. More to your point - the FEC does not have a 30,000-foot view of finance flows into political campaigns and mostly relies on self-reporting. Contrast this to the breadth and depth of data vacuumed up by the Treasury department for Counter Terrorist Financing enforcement. > I’m less concerned about the wealth class than foreign citizens and governments though This has already happened on the record with the NRA, charges were filed, but it seems people collectively shrugged shoulders and moved on. Will it happen again? Absolutely. > Seems like we have a wide open gate that is intentionally being left open. Agreed, and the people in charge are ensuring the sound-proofed guardhouse next to the gate has no windows, and guests have to announce their arrival by shouting loudly. As Upton Sinclair observed: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it
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deepsquirrelnet 4y ago

The FEC is the branch that should be flagging it if anyone. I’m less concerned about the wealth class than foreign citizens and governments though. Seems like we have a wide open gate that is intentionally being left open.

sangnoir 4y ago
> The FEC is the branch that should be flagging it if anyone. Thanks - I corrected my comment. I was thinking FEC, but writing "SEC", probably because FTX is involved. More to your point - the FEC does not have a 30,000-foot view of finance flows into political campaigns and mostly relies on self-reporting. Contrast this to the breadth and depth of data vacuumed up by the Treasury department for Counter Terrorist Financing enforcement. > I’m less concerned about the wealth class than foreign citizens and governments though This has already happened on the record with the NRA, charges were filed, but it seems people collectively shrugged shoulders and moved on. Will it happen again? Absolutely. > Seems like we have a wide open gate that is intentionally being left open. Agreed, and the people in charge are ensuring the sound-proofed guardhouse next to the gate has no windows, and guests have to announce their arrival by shouting loudly. As Upton Sinclair observed: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it
- deleted 4y ago
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